‘Good Time’ – Movie Review: An Exhilarating Trip Through The Streets of New York At Night

Good Time delivers on the promise of its very own title. With a very a simple idea, the filmmakers behind this managed to drag me into the world of the movie right from the very first shot. The cinematography is crisp, with beautiful shots of the city at night illuminated by heavy neon lights, only adds to the magical immersion Good Time provokes.

The most impressive aspect of this film is the performance of Robert Pattinson. Connie is a vicious, single-minded brother who will do anything to get his brother out. Even though we know next-to-nothing about his back story, Pattinson various mannerisms as well as minor mentions tell us all we need to know. He makes a character that possesses little to no redeeming qualities, one that I found myself rooting for. It is purely through the screenplay by Josh Safdie and Ronald Bromstein as well as the performance of Pattinson that it seems plausible. While the casting of Ben Safdie might be contentious, his scenes were thoroughly captivating. Hollywood has a tendency for being way over the top when showing mentally handicapped individuals, but Safdie is restrained as Nick. The prologue is expertly created as we are unsure whether Nick will lash out at his psychiatrist or remain silent.

Good Time definitely suffers from the obligation to meet a “standard” running time length. In other words, it’s one of those films that needs to be shorter despite already being a relatively short film. The first half hour to forty minutes is the non-stop thrill ride that everyone has said that this movie is, but after that, the pacing sort of peters out into an underwhelming stagnation; and the worst part is, it never exactly recovers other than with its utterly satisfying conclusion. Good Time thrives on its simplicity, and it’s about halfway through that it loses sight of the primary objective and shifts the focus towards the superfluous; it becomes ruinous to the pacing, and it’s a real shame, because it only drags down the buzz that you get from the first portion of the film.

Good Time is a relentless thrill ride replete with impressive performances across the board (especially from Robert Pattinson, who absolutely disappears into his role), possibly the best soundtrack of any film this year, a willingness to delve into uncomfortable territory to deliver social commentary (some of which may not be incredibly subtle but within the context of the film its visceral, matter of fact Delivery works effectively), and in terms of sheer visual style.